FEBRUARY 4, 2024 – The U.S. military has a long and storied history. Whichever branch you join, you’ll become part of a fraternity or sorority with your brothers and sisters in arms who have fought valiantly to defend this country since its inception. You should feel a great deal of pride about that.
However, you should not make such a decision lightly. Joining the military comes with risk, and you must think about that before you take the plunge. Let’s talk about some things you should consider before making this move right now.
You Won’t Be Around Your Spouse or Partner as Much
If you join the military, you won’t be around for your partner or spouse as much anymore. That’s undeniable. You must go through basic training, and then you might go overseas. Even if you stay in the US, you’ll seldom see your loved ones during your active duty years.
If your spouse or partner runs into any trouble, you will not be there. You can support them in spirit, but you must hope they can overcome any difficulties they encounter on their own.
For instance, if your spouse has a car wreck that’s the other driver’s fault, they may have to pursue a personal injury lawsuit without much support. A competent lawyer can represent them, but that’s not like you being there. Lawyers typically take 30-40% in contingency fees, but your spouse or partner will probably feel your loss much more keenly in such a scenario.
You Won’t Be Around for Your Kids as Much
If you join the military, you also won’t see your children as much. If you’re raising kids with a spouse or partner, they must take over many of the parenting duties. You might see your kids just a few days out of every year, especially if you’re called into action outside the country.
Kids who grow up with military parents sometimes turn out to be high-functioning, and they often exhibit patriotism as well. If you explain to them when they’re a little older why you signed up and serve your nation, they might feel pride because of that.
On the other hand, they might resent you because of your absence, and they may resent the country that kept you away for so long as well. You never know how kids raised mainly by just one parent will turn out.
You Can Seriously Injure Yourself
If you join the military, you might also sustain a serious injury. You may go fight overseas, or you might face a threat here on your home soil. If that happens, you can lose a limb, or something equally terrible might happen.
Even if you’re not called into a combat zone, military members sometimes sustain injuries during training or simulated missions. During war games, a fellow soldier might shoot you. These friendly fire incidents can happen if someone grows careless for just one moment.
If you’re wounded, you might recover, but you may never fully heal. If not, you will probably get an honorable discharge and a military pension. You can use that money and feel glad it’s there, but you might regret joining in the first place.
You may feel patriotism when you join up, but you won’t know for sure how you’ll feel if you sustain a permanent and life-changing injury until it occurs. You may find that you feel sorrow about the path you followed that led to this position.
You Might Die
While injuries incurred during your military duty can change your life, you can also die if you enlist. You can die doing all kinds of other jobs as well. If you do something like working construction, for instance, that has a high mortality rate, but very few jobs come with the dangers you can expect if you join the military.
If you die, your surviving family will get your military pension, and doubtless, they’ll appreciate that money. However, it’s seldom much consolation if they don’t have you anymore. They may miss you and feel your absence for the rest of their lives.
If you have no family, you might feel comfortable joining up. Some of the best soldiers do what they do because they know they don’t have loved ones at home who would miss them if they never came back.
Most people have families, though, and those who do must consider this very real possibility before they put pen to paper and sign over their lives to the US military. They’re risking their own lives, but they’re also gambling with the lives they could have had with their families if they chose a different profession.
You Get Some Significant Benefits that Many Other Jobs Don’t Offer
While death or injury possibilities represent significant drawbacks, you can also think about several benefits that go along with joining the military and pursuing this type of career. If you do, you can usually attend college classes either without paying, or you might pay a significantly reduced tuition cost. The military lets you educate yourself on its dime, and that might appeal if you can’t afford college on your own without going into debt.
You can also expect pretty good pay if you compare what you’re making in the military with many other jobs. The military has competitive salaries because of the risks involved.
Also, if you join the military, you can use cutting-edge technology that you probably never could if you took a different career route. You can use weapons and other tech that civilians will never see. That might appeal if you like robotics, computers, drones, and other fancy modern toys.
Joining the military won’t always appeal, since some people don’t like supporting the military industrial complex or becoming part of it. However, others relish the opportunity, and the benefits will always beat the potential drawbacks.
Think about this choice carefully before moving forward, though. Remember you’ll permanently impact your life, but also the lives around you.